What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to always be aware, watching and knowing that the answers God gives to life’s perplexing questions are of greater value than any that men, women or their philosophies can give.
“I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.” Habakkuk 2:1 (NKJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want peace to reign always in my heart; and in my home, family, friends, and in the world; I want the world to know the peace that comes only through faith in Jesus and His death, burial and resurrection, and that He is coming again and all will be made right.
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.’ For the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.” Micah 4:1-5 (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to be blessed by God in telling someone about Jesus Christ, and His cross, death, burial and resurrection; and to see that person call on the name of the Lord for salvation, receiving eternal life.
Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth— The LORD God of hosts is His name.” Amos 4:12-13 (NKJV)
“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Jesus (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
It is the Lord’s Day once again, so I want to go to worship our God and Savior Jesus Christ with brothers and sisters in Christ, and glorify His name together, then go into the community, and the world, equipped, and ready to live in a way that shows Him to the world; and do that seven days a week.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to be a good and godly steward of all that God has blessed me with; including my fellowship with God, my wife, home, family, friends, and caring for finances, house and land; and in that order of importance.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to be a blessing to those around me; to be an encourager, to be a friend to all I meet, and to instill in them the desire for living right, to always point them to the Creator; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.” Hosea 14:4-7 (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to always know the heart and mind of God for my life, and to walk in it, that His name would be glorified.
I thank you Father for the cross of Jesus which makes this possible through Your Holy Spirit and Your Word.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to so live my life; even unto death if need be; that others will know and see the living Lord Jesus Christ in me and desire to know Him too.
Read Daniel 3 of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego).
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to put my trust completely in the Lord GOD and His Word; and I do. I also want us to realize that there is no hope in any man or woman, except GOD’S Son Jesus Christ, and that you can believe every word He says.
“And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 29:16 (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to always trust in the LORD and to be a reason for others to trust in Him too; to not be distracted by blessings, but to rest confidently in the Blesser who is GOD through His Son Jesus Christ who died on the cross, was buried, and rose again.
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; ‘When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to My servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.” Ezekiel 28:25-26 (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want the world to know that …The LORD is God, and that there is no other; that He has revealed Himself in His creation, and in His written Word and in the Living Word which is His Son; and that no man, woman, boy or girl is without excuse, and without Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior you stand no chance for eternal life in the presence of God; and that you may know that God will fulfill every word He has spoken.
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” Ezekiel 18:30-32 (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to be a pleasure to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of God; and when the body that I am living in dies I want God to be pleasured by it; so I want my life and my death to glorify Him, and I know, I trust, and I believe that God sent His only begotten Son, and that whosoever believes in Him (and that “whosoever” is you and me) shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
Also see Psalm 116:15.
“For thus saith the Lord GOD; ‘How much more when I send My four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it,’ saith the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 14:21-23 (KJV)
Jerusalem, Judah, Israel were being judged because of their rebellious, hard headed, hard hearted actions against God, His Word, and His ways. They were being disciplined by a loving, caring Father who loved them deeply, but loved them too much to let them go to eternal destruction.
He does not judge, or discipline without purpose or cause.
What do I want for Christmas today?
It seems to me that our nation, and much of the world is given to idols of our own making; recreation, entertainment, are two of the most popular; and to be clear; there is nothing wrong with those, except when they take us away from God and His Word; So I want that my heart and mind be on Jesus, His Word, His way for my life, living for Him, and Him alone, and the knowledge, wisdom, and power to live with joy, and praise in my heart and life solely because of Him; and I want all others to know this same joy, power and praise, and to have the same assurance of eternity with Jesus, due solely to the fact of the death, burial and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.” Ezekiel 11:16 (KJV)
In their captivity God is giving His people who are known to have rebellious, hard hearts, a promise of His presence, peace, safety, and security in a foreign land.
What do I want for Christmas today?
There is an absence of the presence of God in many lives, because they do not know Him; I want all to be aware of the presence of God, and His love for you shown on the cross of His Son Jesus where He bled and died, was buried, and bodily arose from the grave, coming out alive conquering sin, death, hell and the grave, and gives peace with God, and everlasting life.
“Then He said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.” Ezekiel 8:17-18 (KJV)
The anger of God concerning the sins of humanity is not a popular topic. We are more aspiring toward the “Love of God”. The love of God is awesome; however, without the anger and wrath of God toward sin His love would be a moot issue.
Ezekiel the prophet of the above verses had been taken, by vision, to Jerusalem to witness the atrocities of the temple previously to their captivity. They were atrocious sins against God and the temple. Now, though I do believe the prophet already had some understanding of their captivity, Ezekiel had a fuller understanding. The priests and the prophets and the people had “Thumbed their nose” at God, His Word, and the prophets who spoke God’s truths.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to never have contempt in my heart, mind or being for God, His Word, His preachers who declare the Word of the LORD, or His people; I want to always declare the truth of God’s Word even when it is not popular to do so; I want to preach and teach the Word of God so that God is glorified, and the cross of Jesus – His death, burial and resurrection is declared, and people know the price God has paid to redeem fallen humans from our sins.
And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” Ezekiel 2:6-8 (NKJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
Though I live in a foreign land, because it has turned her back on the One who made her great, I want to eat the Word of God daily through study, reading and application of it in my life; that I may be a witness for my God and Savior Jesus Christ no matter what this nation or the world may hurl at me; to be strong and faithful even unto death, and unto life.
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 (KJV)
Though the prophet Jeremiah is lamenting the tragedy of Judah and Israel, he recognizes that the mercies of the LORD are without fail. They are “New every morning”. Mercy is a great power and offering from our Lord to us every day.
What do I want for Christmas today?
When I wake up of the mornings I want to be thankful for the LORD’S mercy that He has given me another day, that I am breathing, that I have a beating heart, for all the manifold blessings He has given me; and I want to share that mercy, those mercies, as much as within me, with my family, friends, neighbors, and those who may not be at peace with me.
Through the mercies of God we can know His grace through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus, God the Son.
“And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, and spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, and changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.” Jeremiah 52:31-34 (KJV)
Jehoiachin was a king who “…Did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 36:9) yet finds Nebuchadnezzar to be merciful, and releases him from prison, and gives him a seat with himself.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to always walk in the mercies of GOD, to behold His goodness, mercy, love and grace; and I want all to know the same mercy, love and grace that has been shown to me throughout my whole life that has been given to all who will receive it through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ Son of God, God the Son.
“And I will set My throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes,’ saith the LORD. ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam,’ saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 49:38-39 (KJV)
Elam, Moab, and Ammon are nations promised to return from captivity. Some, along with Egypt are promised to share in the same blessings as Israel. These have been God’s pronouncements against the nations which tormented and persecuted Israel – God’s mission people from their calling.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to have the mind of Missions, in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with every lost soul God brings into my life and path; if not by word; by the life that I live, and the joy and praise to God from my heart, tongue and mouth.
“But fear not thou, O My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear thou not, O Jacob My servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.” Jeremiah 46:27-28 (KJV)
Fear was the thing that led the left behinds to their disobedience to God, His prophet, and their going to Egypt for “Safety”. Fear moves people to do terrible things. No matter what age of this world fear is a motivator of evil.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to walk with GOD, because when I walk with Him, I am never afraid.
For clarification – To walk with GOD is to be in total agreement with Him,
“Can two walk together, except they agree.” (Amos 3:3)
“…Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before Him; ‘If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.” Jeremiah 42:9-12 (KJV)
The people who were the poor of the land, left by Nebuchadnezzar, were afraid, yet were being less than honest about their prayer requests. It seems they had already determined they were going to go to Egypt.
What do I want for Christmas today?
When I have my thoughts, and they do not coincide with God’s thoughts, I want to agree with God, and do His Word, and go His way; because He knows what is best for me.
Jesus is the only Savior of the world. He makes that plain. Hear Him…
“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29
“Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.'” Jeremiah 37:6-8 (KJV)
There is a lot of talk about speaking “Positively”, and I like to be positive about things. The above verses do not sound very positive. Do they? If God is about to carry out His word of judgment on His people of Judah is that positive? My thought is – Yes it is.
If God’s word of judgment is fulfilled just as He says; then His words of promise, hope, life, and eternity will also be fulfilled.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to see the best in every situation, knowing that God is at work in me, all Christians, and the rest of the world; carrying out His will and purposes and letting the whole world know that He is the LORD.
“And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.” Jeremiah 36:23-25 (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want to always hold the word of God in great respect, to live according to what is written in its pages; and I want the pastors, and people of every Christian congregation to proclaim, and believe the word of God; and I want a leadership in our nation who will who will have great respect and a fear of God and His Word; and I want all who will hear the Word of God to receive the redemption for our sins which have been given us by the death, burial and resurrection of His only Son Jesus Christ.
“Thus says the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: ‘If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever.’ Thus says the LORD; ‘If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,’ saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 31:35-37 (KJV)
Because the love and promises of God are so vast, so deep, so broad, to the people of Israel; I can rest assured that His promises to me through Jesus Christ will never, never, never fail.
The science of men has searched, and is continually searched for, and endeavored to measure the vastness of the “heavens”, yet to no avail. They have not fully found the secrets of the whole earth; and never will.
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want you to know the vastness, the depth, and breadth of the love and promises of God for you; how much He loves you is shown in the cross of His Son; in His burial all our sins, shame, guilt, condemnation, and death was left there; in His bodily resurrection He gives us eternal victory over the power of death; I want you to know Him, His love, and His promises; that He never fails.
“Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying, ‘Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’ ‘Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? Did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented Him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.'” Jeremiah 26:17-19 (KJV)
Jeremiah was facing the religious leaders, and they were trying to determine if the prophet should be put to death or not. He had spoken against the temple, said it was going to be destroyed, and doing so made him worthy of death.
What do I want for Christmas today?
To always be bold in the Spirit of God and His word, to be faithful to His Word, and never diminish a word of what God has said; to always lift up Jesus Christ and His cross – His death, burial and resurrection, and that He is the eternal Son of God, God the Son, and that He is the exclusive way to God and eternity with Him
The Fire and Hammer 